Did A TARP Benificiary Call Program A "Sham" And Gift To Speculators?

Update: It appears the Telegraph has taken down the article after complaints about its veracity. We're looking into this further.

Original post: The TARP and PPIP have no shortage of critics, and normally it wouldn't be news that someone out there claimed it was all a big sham.

But normally said critics aren't direct beneficiaries of the programs themvelves. Speakin in Qatar, Mark Patterson of MatlinPatterson, a firm that invested in a Michigan bank with help from TARP, lashed out.

Telegraph: "The taxpayers ought to know that we are in effect receiving a subsidy. They put in 40pc of the money but get little of the equity upside," said Mark Patterson, chairman of MatlinPatterson Advisers.

...

Mr Patterson said the US Treasury is out of its depth and seems to be trying to put off drastic action by pretending that the banking system is still viable.

"It's a sham. The banks are insolvent. The US government is trying to sedate the public because they are down to the last $100bn (£66bn) of the $700bn TARP funds. They think they're doing this for the greater good of society," he said, speaking at the Qatar Global Investment Forum.

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Mr Patterson said it would be better for the US to bite the bullet as Britain has done, accepting that crippled lenders must be nationalised. "At least the British are not hiding the bail-out," he said.